A laptop on a wooden outdoor table displaying a website titled "VITAL Rise" with a woman in a green dress and straw hat. Next to the laptop is a cup on a saucer, a closed black notebook with a pen on top, and a smartphone in a case. The background features green grass and trees.

Semi-Custom Squarespace Websites

Designed, Styled & Ready to Launch

Running a small business means wearing a lot of hats, and “web designer” shouldn’t be one of them. I design semi-custom Squarespace websites for small business owners who want something professional and easy to manage, without starting from scratch or paying an agency price tag.

You don’t need a massive custom website…

but you do need something that looks professional, works properly, and doesn’t eat up all your time.
Most small business owners are stuck between:

DIY sites that feel unfinished or not on brand

A black flag with a large white X in the center.

Templates they don’t know how to customize

Black background with a white, rough-edged X cross in the center.

Self-teaching all the ins/outs of a new platform

Black background with a large white 'X' in a rough, painted style.

Custom quotes that are way outside their budget

Black and white grunge style X mark or cross symbol

That’s exactly where semi-custom web design fits.

Person using a laptop at a desk with a potted plant, browsing an online webpage for a wellness product called Vital Rise.

My Signature Service:
Semi-Custom Squarespace Website Design

I start with one of my proven Squarespace templates and customize it specifically for your business. That means I handle the design, structure, branding, and foundational SEO so you don’t have to start from scratch. Semi-custom website design packages start at $1,595.

    • Custom styling with your brand colors, fonts, and imagery

    • 6 content pages including home, about, services (or product) page, info page, portfolio/blog/events (depends on your business), and a contact (with a thank you) page.

    • Every site will also include a custom 404 page, and two blank pages for your privacy policy and terms and conditions. This text is not provided for you, but I can offer you a discount code to work with a third-party partner to source your legal content.

    • Page structure & navigation setup

    • Foundational on-page SEO

    • A clean, cohesive design you can confidently manage

    • Access to our step-by-step tutorials

    • Website content planning workbook

    • Launch & SEO checklist

    • Email support post-project

  • Prior to project kick-off, you will receive a bit of homework to help guide the brand design process. This is required in order for us to create your brand design and style your chosen template. This home work includes a styling questionnaire, and a Website Content Planning workbook, both of which must be completed prior to the start of any work. This guide will walk you through your brand strategy and the copy needed to add content to your website.

    You should allow yourself 1-2 weeks to complete these exercises.

    Once we receive your homework, we will confirm the kick-off date with you. Once the date is set, your website will take 7-10 business days to complete.

    What We Don’t Do

    • We do not take original photography of your business. You can provide these assets if you’d like them to be used in the template.

    • We do not do major layout changes on the chosen template.

    • We do not connect any third-party or external services (email platforms, member platforms, scheduling systems, etc.).

    • We do not set up and connect your domain.

How a Semi-Custom Design Works

A semi-custom web design is low-stress as we follow a simple, streamlined process:

  1. Choose a template - start with a professionally designed Squarespace foundation

  2. Complete your homework - submit the styling questionnaire, website content planner, and provide all brand assets for your site

  3. Kick-off call - we will have a 30-60 minute kick-off call to review your homework, answer questions, and schedule the design date

  4. I customize it for you - branding, layout, navigation, and SEO basics are handled for you

  5. You add final touches & launch - connect your social channels, add any final content, connect your domain, and launch.

Laptop on a desk displaying three webpage templates for Squarespace: Momentum Edge, Thrive Plate, and Vital Rise.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • If you love to DIY or are on a tight budget and just need a starting point, a Squarespace template is perfect. If you don’t have the time or expertise to try and DIY your template and don’t want to make any major changes to it other than style, then I’d recommend the Semi-Custom Web Design package. If you don’t have a brand style guide and you want brand consistency across your marketing materials, branding and graphic services can help.

    If you already have a Squarespace website that you’ve recently launched, but need some help getting it to 100%, our Site Refresh option is great.

    If you’re still not sure, contact me and I’ll help you choose the right fit.

    1. Provide me with more details about your business, website and/or marketing needs and your goals using our Project Request Form.

    2. I’ll respond as soon as possible to set up a 20-30 minute exploratory discussion (if needed) to discuss the goals and scope of the project. If you’d rather we respond via email first, we can do that too!

    3. I believe great results come from great relationships. After our initial call, I’ll take time to ensure we’re a strong match in both vision and communication style before moving forward. This helps ensure every project is enjoyable, collaborative, and built for success.

    4. If the relationship is a good fit, a project proposal will be prepared and sent to you for review.

    5. Once the following items have been received, I can schedule the kick-off and timeline:

      • Signed contract

      • 50% deposit received deposit

      • Onboarding questionnaires/feedback forms

    What are the onboarding questionnaires/feedback forms?

    Prior to project kick-off, you will receive a bit of homework to help guide the brand design process and/or marketing systems setup.

    If we’re doing semi-custom web design work, it is required that you provide us with your brand assets (logos, fonts, colors, images) in order for us to create your brand design and style your chosen template (if those are the services you selected).

    You will also receive a Website Content Planning workbook that must be completed prior to the start of any work. This guide will walk you through content prompts to write the copy for each page of the template.

    You should allow yourself 1-2 weeks to complete these exercises.

    Once we receive your homework, we will confirm the kick-off date with you and discuss how long your project will take to complete.

  • That depends on the service! Semi-custom website design projects usually take between 7-10 business days once all your content is received. Other services will depend upon the project details and what needs to be done.

  • Yes. A 50% deposit reserves your project spot, with the remaining 50% due upon completion.

  • That’s great, that means you’re already familiar with Squarespace! There are a few options for you in this scenario. First, you can choose a brand new template to overhaul your existing site. Or, if your Squarespace website is fairly new but just doesn’t feel polished or finished, we can update your site with our Site Refresh service.

  • No, I don’t typically provide or write copy from scratch for you. I’ll guide you through planning your content using the Website Content Workbook, and using that I provide light copy refinement for SEO optimization purposes. If you want full copywriting support, let me know in the project request form and we can discuss next steps and how to meet those needs.

  • Yes! Your brand should look consistent everywhere, not just on your website. I can help you define your color palette, fonts, and overall visual identity so your website feels cohesive and polished. I can also design on-brand marketing assets in Canva that support your marketing and reflect your brand professionally. Branding services are an add-on to any website package.

  • If you need help setting up additional marketing systems, submit a project request form so we can discuss what systems you need help with. We can help you set up Squarespace marketing tools, but if you’re looking to connect your third-party tools, we can provide guidance on where to find the embed codes to include on your Squarespace site.

  • Not at all! I’ll walk you through the basics and provide tutorials so you can confidently manage your site after our project wraps.

  • You’ll receive post-launch email support for minor questions or tweaks. For continued help, we can discuss additional design hours or a mini refresh later down the road. I do offer Virtual Marketing Assistance, which is most often billed at an hourly rate or a monthly retainer. Submit a project request form if you need additional work beyond what your project has scoped.

    It is my goal to create ongoing educational materials related to running and managing your Squarespace website and marketing your small business. If you’re not a part of the Build in Progress email list, be sure to join…that’s where you’ll find these great resources!

Still have questions? Reach out to me or submit a project request and I’m happy to chat.

Prefer to DIY your website?
Shop Our Squarespace Website Templates

These templates were designed for Squarespace’s 7.1 Fluid Engine editor. You can easily swap in your own brand colors, fonts, and images (no coding needed). Each design is flexible enough to fit a variety of business types, so feel free to let your creativity flow. Take a look around, explore the demos, and see which one feels like home for your business.

Vital Rise

7.1 Fluid Engine
Health & Wellness | Service-Based
$197

Momentum Edge

7.1 Fluid Engine
Fitness | Service-Based
$197

Thrive Plate

7.1 Fluid Engine
Health & Wellness | Service-Based
$197

Laptop on a wooden table displaying a website template for Mattion Digital, with a coffee cup nearby and a person using the laptop.

Already have a Squarespace website and need a refresh?

If your current Squarespace site needs a little love, whether it’s better mobile design, updated SEO, or a more cohesive look and feel, we can help. We’ll review your existing site and make the updates needed to help it look and perform at its best. Sometimes a refresh is all it takes to feel brand new.

    • Website audit and recommendations - includes reviewing existing design, layout, and navigation

    • Update site styles if needed to reflect your existing brand

    • Style/create graphics to match your brand

    • Clean up existing pages to match brand styles and offer better visual balance and readability

    • Improve page flow for marketing conversion

    • Mobile optimization review and updates

    • SEO Checkup - update basic SEO where needed and on-page SEO

    • Compress and optimize images for faster load times

    • Set up redirects or fix broken links if needed

  • If you have an existing Squarespace site that you want to refresh:

    1. Send us an inquiry using the project form below.

    2. We’ll respond as soon as possible to set up a 20-30 minute website audit and strategy call to review your goals, identify problem areas, and prioritize updates that will make the biggest difference.

    3. I believe great results come from great relationships. After our initial call, I’ll take time to ensure we’re a strong match in both vision and communication style before moving forward. This helps ensure every project is enjoyable, collaborative, and built for success.

    4. If the relationship is a good fit, a project proposal will be prepared and sent to you for review.

    5. Once the following items have been received, we can schedule the kick-off and timeline:

      • Signed contract

      • 50% deposit received

      • Onboarding questionnaires/feedback forms

    What a Site Refresh Does Not Include:

    • A full website redesign or layout overhaul

    • New page creation beyond existing site structure

    • Copywriting or full content rewrites

    • New brand design (logos, colors, or typography), unless requested

    • Custom coding or third-party app integrations

    • Migration from another platform to Squarespace

Tablet displaying a branding style guide with logos, color swatches, and typography, placed on a table next to a cup of coffee and a purple flower arrangement.

More Ways to Work Together

Need ongoing marketing help without hiring in-house, or help with on-brand marketing assets?

Your brand should look consistent everywhere, not just on your website. If you need help with on-brand visuals for your marketing, or ongoing help with email marketing, updates, and systems setup, I can help with that too.

Ready to get started? Let’s chat!

If you could take a few moments to provide me with more information about your goals and what you’re looking for, I can review it and get back to you as soon as possible with more details and next steps!